Social justice and the prophet Amos

Abstract:

The central concern in the Amos text is that God terminates social injustice by way of national downfall. A cursory reading investigation of the entire text of Amos reveals the centrality of social injustice in the original utterances as well a in possible later reworking of the text. There is a strong possibility that Deuteronomistic editors edited the text to render Amos' maledictions applicable to the northern kingdom of Israel only. It cannot be doubted that Amos originated in Tekoa in the Judaean hill country. The possibility that Amos could have been connected to Uzziah's agricultural crown enterprises in the Judaean hill country is strong. The language, the metaphors and images contained in the text of Amos support this agricultural background. If the text of Amos is interpreted without bias and linked to the western campaigns of Tiglath-Pileser III, a much later date than the traditionally accepted one of 760-750 BCE emerges. This interpretation affects the possibility that Amos prophesied about Samaria shortly before that city fell to the Assyrians. Amos was a revolutionary prophet who called the wrath of God down upon the diabolic system of economic exploitation. He must be interpreted against the backdrop of prophetic figures in Judah, as well as in the light of political assassinations and removals of Jerusalem's rulers before him.